7-24-13 RMB Arts

7-24-13 RMB Arts

Dear Rita Mae Brown,

The ladies I work with went out to see Sandra Bullock in her new movie Heat. I went with them. Sister stays home with a fever, not feeling well at all.

The movie is good. I like Sandra Bullock. She made me laugh out loud in parts. I needed that, more than I realized…so much more than I realized.

What moves us to laughter, to tears? What helps us through a day, or a life? It differs for each of us, yet there is common ground, places where one connects to someone, never everyone though.

I like that a smile in Cuba, Africa, Ireland, etc. is the same as a smile in America. I like that music makes most bodies sway, or tap a foot…or smile. The sun and the moon are universal symbols of something grander than their particles; something living, a part of us and our existence, another something that we have in common.

Tension between nations rise, bullies push and shove the masses. Some speak out, but most don’t. Among those that speak, many speak for themselves, their own interests…not the greater good. I am tired of the strain, worry for both my own life, for those in my inner circle, and our universe. I escape to the movie, but carry the words spoken on the news and the tales of my inner circles’ challenges.

With hearts breaking near and far, Sandra Bullock does a great thing, making us laugh when we sorely need it. The arts; stories – in film, in mass media and in print; images – drawn, painted, photographed, sculpted, built; sounds – instruments played, words sung…they carry us from one day to another, from one generation to another.

The arts are mirrors of life, from the joyous to the heartbreaking. They help us remember. They help us forget, escape the now to later return refreshed.

Many thanks to Sandra,

Loraine